Family Before the Fall
by Phenomiracle
Summary: Carla welcomes her beloved friend's daughter into her happy family and processes the changes she evokes in her, her husband, and most importantly her little treasure Eren. Follow along as Eren and Mikasa's precious time together comes with exploring Eren's brashness and ambition, Mikasa's solemnness and strength, and the doomed world around them. EreMika-centric.
1. Welcome

**Enjoyed the Season 2 finale?**

 **This will be an Eren/Mikasa fic, but I will work around with other members of the cast. I usually do oneshots, but this will be a multi-chapter work.**

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The night was a fairly average one for Shiganshina. The skies remained mostly clear, save for a stray cloud or two. The weather was neither hot nor cold. Voices and raucous cheering of the city's nightlife drifted over to the residential district, where one household was experiencing anything but an average night.

At this time on any normal evening, a young, beautiful barmaid-turned wife and mother would be enjoying herself with her husband, their young son peacefully sleeping in his room.

Instead, however...

"Maybe I should contact Father." The young woman hesitantly remarked to herself, interrupting her brisk pacing in her home's living room. "Have him pull a few strings with his connections at the Military Police and get a search party going now."

She spent a few seconds in thought, trying to ease her panic, the stillness of her empty home not doing her any favors.

"No, no, Grisha wouldn't be pleased at all," Carla Jaeger said, shaking her head. "I can wait."

Carla resumed her pacing, stealing glances at her family picture hanging over her home's fireplace, at the smiling faces of herself and the two she cherished over all else: Her husband and hero Grisha Jaeger and their rambunctious but beautiful son, Eren.

A sudden series of knocks on her door broke her out of her trance. Listening intently, Carla recognized her husband's signature knock pattern he had her specifically memorize. She bolted to the front door, caught between feeling relief and fury. Much as she was ready to embrace her husband, she was ready to chew Grisha out for keeping Eren far past his bedtime.

Carla opened the door and three tired-looking figures greeted her sight. She turned to her husband, who gave her a kiss before briefly making his way in, leading in the other two before closing and locking the door.

"I'm sorry, Carla." Grisha apologized, his voice hoarse.

Grisha turned to the two smaller figures, and Carla felt a surge of overpowering relief as she laid eyes on Eren, who looked exhausted but otherwise uninjured. She immediately turned to the other person.

"...Mikasa?" Carla asked, recognizing her close friend's daughter. She took note of Eren's scarf wrapped around her neck and face, hiding her mouth.

The raven-haired girl looked up at Carla with emotionless eyes, one hand on her scarf, the other grasping Eren's hand.

Grisha placed a hand on Carla's shoulder, giving her a look.

"Eren, take Mikasa upstairs to your room and stay there until I say otherwise." Grisha ordered with a firm tone. He looked at Mikasa. "Get some sleep." He said softly.

Eren nodded, gave his mother an apologetic look, and lead Mikasa to his room by her hand. Mikasa followed close behind.

Carla watched her son and her close friend's daughter disappear from sight, into his room. At the sound of his door closing, Grisha turned to her, a hard expression on his face.

"Matthew and Yui were murdered." He said grimly.

Carla felt her stomach drop, and grabbed a nearby chair to steady herself. Flashes of her younger years with Yui Ackerman and her group of friends ran through her mind as she struggled to comprehend the reality that she was no longer with them.

"Who...and why?" Carla whispered.

Grisha sighed as he sat Carla down at the kitchen table. "Kidnappers. When Eren and I arrived at their place, the door was already opened. And they were gone, I couldn't do anything. Mikasa was missing."

"Eren and I went down to local police to report, and somehow he slipped away." Grisha continued, holding Carla's hand as she drew a sharp breath. "I found him hours later at a small cabin a few miles away, where three of the kidnappers had been holding Mikasa."

Grisha leaned in, grabbing Carla's other hand and holding it tightly.

"By the time I found them with the police, Eren and Mikasa had somehow killed them all. By themselves."

Carla reeled, feeling Grisha's eyes studying her intently. She remembering her beautiful son, her adorable bundle of joy. He had his fits of disobedience and mischief, but she couldn't imagine him ever...

"He's been unpredictable, but he's a very passionate and principled boy." Grisha said, reading Carla's mind from her expression. "When he's made his mind up about standing up for someone or something, he won't let anyone deter him."

Carla sighed as she tried to manage her many emotions, from grief for her close friend's senseless murder, and a mix of worry and pride for Eren. She laid her head on her husband's shoulder.

"Don't be hard on him, please. I've already told him off and he's been through enough as is." Grisha said softly, his arms wrapping around Carla.

"What about Yui's daughter?" Carla asked, remembering their guest. "Poor Mikasa, she's a carbon copy of Yui at her age."

Grisha looked upward, hearing Eren's muffled voice through the doorway of the room.

"She's...no family nearby to take her in." He said. "I told her she was welcome to stay with us."

Carla stayed quiet as she processed Grisha's words. Her heart ached for Yui, Mikasa, and Eren. "Of course she's welcome."

Grisha relaxed slightly, before looking out the window into the dark Shiganshina night.

"I think it's time we head to bed," He said, making to get up.

Carla lifted her head, nodding as she made to follow suit. Her exhaustion from waiting had worn her out.

A loud, inhuman scream ripped through the air from Eren's room, jolting the two parents wide awake.

Carla exchanged a frightened look with Grisha before bolting upstairs, her loud steps echoing throughout their home.

She slammed the bedroom door open, Grisha right at her heels.

"EREN!? MIKASA!?" Carla cried.

"Mom!" Eren responded from the corner of his room, fear in his voice.

Carla turned towards him, before looking at his bed, seeing a figure jerk violently and moan ghoulishly.

"Mikasa!" Grisha said, gliding swiftly over to Eren's bedside.

Mikasa's eyes rolled back into her eye as she gripped the sheets, her back arching. "Mommy….DADDY!" She screamed.

"Mikasa!" Grisha called out, holding her shoulders down while giving the struggling girl light slaps on her cheek, trying to wake her.

Carla moved over to Eren, hugging him to her tightly as the two moved closer to the bed, watching Mikasa struggle.

"Eren, Carla! Grab her legs!" Grisha instructed, feeling his grip slipping.

Despite the pronounced fright on their faces, the young mother and her son took their places and held Mikasa's legs down as much as they could.

Carla noted the considerable effort it took her just to keep one leg down, before she looked at Eren, who was barely able to balance himself.

Suddenly, Mikasa went limp, her form crashing on the bed.

The three Jaegers took a moment to steady their breath. Grisha moved upward, checking her breathing and her pulse.

"Night terror," He said softly. He put a head to her forehead. "She's burning up as well, a light fever."

Eren looked at Mikasa's sleeping form worriedly. "Is she gonna to be okay? Will she have another night terror thing?"

Carla looked at Grisha nervously, who frowned.

"Very likely. Only way to help is to have a talk with her tomorrow." Grisha said. Carla nodded, watching Mikasa's ostensibly peaceful sleep closely, feeling her heart ache.

"I'll be back, give me a moment." Grisha said, leaving the room.

He returned a few moments later, carrying a bucket of water and a handful of small towels. He set them down.

"For the time being, I'll stay with her." Grisha said, drawing Eren's desk chair to the bedside and sitting down.

"The whole night?" Eren asked.

"Eren," Grisha called out tiredly, not looking at him, "You'll sleep with your mother in our room. No arguments."

Carla stared at her husband disbelievingly. "Honey, no." She said, feeling Eren's and Grisha's eyes on her. "I'll stay with her. You've had a long day, you need your rest."

Grisha looked at Carla intently, his eyes studying his wife.

Carla looked back steadfastly. She had made up her mind. If she was to take in Mikasa as her own, she would need to do this. For Mikasa's sake, for her sake, and for her family's sake.

Grisha nodded at last, accepting her answer. He stood up and grasped Carla's hand.

"Very well. Let me know if you need me, I'll be right here."

Carla nodded.

Eren watched his parents' interaction with a mix of curiosity. He'd never seen either of them as exhausted and pushed to their limit like this.

Grisha looked over at Eren. "Eren, let's get some sleep."

"Yes," Eren yawned. As he followed his father, he approached Carla, hugging her tightly.

"Eren…" Carla whispered as she responded with increased intensity, holding her son to her chest as she felt her overbearing emotions suddenly well her eyes with tears.

She sniffed, suddenly feeling Eren tug her blouse, pulling her ear to his mouth.

"Mom," He whispered guiltily, "I'm sorry for making you worry."

That was the final straw. Carla buckled her knees and gave way to her sobs. She knelt, burying her face into Eren's neck.

As upset as she was at Eren's recklessness, as relieved she was that he was safe, she knew that her son's actions were nothing short of heroic. He acted in a way that many trained soldiers would feel skittish about, and he did so with no hesitation. He was certainly Mikasa's hero.

"I'm proud of you." She whispered, pulling back and looking at her son.

Eren stared into her eyes, stunned. He then beamed, his face his usual bright and cheery. "Thanks Mom." He said sweetly, with a smile that melted Carla's heart.

"Go with your father, now." Carla smiled back, her eyes shining.

Eren nodded and followed Grisha out. Grisha gave her an appreciative look before closing the door.

Carla turned back towards Eren's bed, which now hosted an orphan, the newest member of the Jaeger household.

She sat down on the bedside chair, her hands working with the towel next to the bucket of water. She squeezed the cold water out, before laying the cold press on the girl's forehead.

She watched as Mikasa's chest heaved up and down with the rhythm of sleep, and stared into the young girl's face. She grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Welcome to our little happy family, Mikasa." Carla said softly.

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 **Reviews are love, they keep all writers going!**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 2!**


	2. Mother and Father

Carla woke up with a start, the scent of her son's clothes filling her nostrils as she found herself slumped over on Eren's bed. She raised her head groggily as sunlight filled the room. She felt warmth around her right hand, and glanced down, noticing two smaller, softer hands gripping it tightly.

"Mikasa…" Carla whispered, her vision blurry.

"Mrs. Jaeger?" A small voice said softly.

That jolted Carla wide awake. She looked up and saw the young girl's scared eyes on her, studying her expression.

"Mikasa!" Carla exclaimed. She quickly moved the back of her left hand onto the young girl's forehead, trying to gauge her temperature. "How are you feeling?"

Mikasa stayed silent for a few moments. Carla watched the raven-haired girl's expressions closely as she took in her surroundings.

"You're in Eren's room right now, sweetie. He brought you up here, do you remember?" Carla said. She removed her hand from her forehead. Mikasa seemed to recovered quite well over the night.

"Eren?" Mikasa's head snapped right toward Carla's. "Where is he?" She asked.

Carla noted the girl's sudden attentiveness at her son's name. "He's in the next room over, sleeping with his father. He's alright." She responded, feeling the necessity to stress Eren's well-being. She watched as Mikasa's shoulders slumped with relief.

"I'm hungry…" Mikasa said after a few moments.

"Of course, I'll bring you something." Carla said, standing up. She moved toward the doorway, feeling the weight of her day clothes slowing her down, having slept in them by the bedside. She looked back at Mikasa. "I'll be right back."

Carla hurried downstairs and into the kitchen. She splashed her face with water and lightly rinsed her hair, trying to wash away the night sweat. She immediately busied herself with something quick to feed Mikasa.

A while later, Carla stood near the oven, waiting as her rye bread baked. She suddenly felt large arms wrapping around her waist as a larger body pressed against her back.

"Hello, dear." Grisha said, softly kissing Carla's temple.

Carla leaned back into Grisha. "Good morning," She responded softly.

"Mom!" Carla heard Eren's voice call out. She turned around, watching him bounce toward her. "How's Mikasa?"

"She's alright, just hungry," Carla said, giving her son a kiss on his forehead. "I'm bringing her some bread."

Grisha let go of Carla and moved upstairs. "I'll check in on her." Carla nodded in response.

Eren watched his mother as she stood in front of the oven. She was hunched over, shifting firewood to keep the flames burning. She pulled back and stood up, placing her hands on her hips and letting out a deep breath she'd been holding.

Carla turned to look at her son, who quickly looked away.

"How'd you sleep?" She asked.

"Fine. Normal." Eren said, before stealing a glance at Carla. He noted the slight dark circles under her eyes, long strands of her hair sticking to her face and neck, and her skin still covered in a sheen of sweat. "You look like you really need sleep." He said bluntly.

Carla let out a chuckle. "Aww, aren't you so sweet to worry about me."

Eren looked away again and huffed, crossing his arms. "Yeah, sure."

Carla opened the oven door and carefully lifted out the heated pot. "How about you help me," She began, her voice straining as she kept her focus on not dropping the baked bread, "by taking this up to Mikasa for me?"

Eren watched as Carla began slicing the bread into portions. "I'll do it." He said.

"Thank you, honey." Carla said as she placed a plate of bread and a mug of warm honey tea onto a tray. "Here you go."

Eren carefully lifted up the tray and walked over upstairs, passing by Grisha as the latter came down. Carla watched as Eren disappeared into his room.

"No fever, she's much better now." Grisha remarked, pouring himself a glass of water. "You did well."

"No, I didn't do much," Carla said as she began preparing the larger share of the dough she had kneaded for the rest of her family's breakfast. "Just cold compresses like I'd do for Eren when he got sick."

Carla felt Grisha approach her again, and looked up at him.

"Are you sure about this, taking her in?" Grisha asked quietly.

Carla hesitated for a split second, understanding her husband's concerns.

"I know offering her our home was the right thing to do, she was alone and head nowhere else to go," Carla said. "Obviously this isn't a situation any of us wanted, but I do believe fate has a hand here. Had you and Eren not gone to visit them, had Eren not disobeyed you...Mikasa wouldn't be…"

She faltered, not wanting to finish that sentence. Grisha grabbed her shoulders, steadying her.

"This is the story we started, we can't walk away from it." Carla said firmly. "Mikasa is part of our family now."

Grisha looked at her intently, her words reminding him of what someone else told him regarding his greater mission.

" _The moment you and your sister crossed that wall….you started this story, didn't you?"_

To Carla's amazement, Grisha's face broke out into a look of genuine happiness, an astonishment that she had never seen before from him.

"Grisha…?" She asked, jolting her husband out of his trance.

"Oh, nothing," Grisha said, still smiling. "I'm glad you see it that way."

"Also," Carla began, "She's Yui's daughter, and she and I had always been close. This is what she would have wanted, us taking care of her, as opposed to her heading off to a group orphanage."

Carla paused, looking at her husband.

"Had something ever happened to us, her family would have welcomed Eren with open arms. That's just the type of person she was."

Carla felt tears welling in her eyes again as she remembered her longtime friend. Her happiness, her radiant personality.

"Carla…" Grisha said, pulling her into a hug while she sniffed, a few tears leaking.

"You've got to be strong for Mikasa, you know." Grisha said, smiling. "Eren's not the only one she's relying on. Speaking of which…"

The couple paused for a moment, listening. Eren's excited voice bounced off the walls from his room upstairs.

Grisha put a hand to his forehead and sighed, shaking his head exasperatedly. Carla chuckled in response.

"Unbelievable, this child." Grisha said, moving upstairs. "He should know better than to harass a freshly recovered patient."

"Wait, dear!" Carla said in a quiet voice, tugging on his sleeve. Grisha turned to her.

"Let's listen to what he's saying." She suggested with a smile.

Grisha paused, before deciding that his curiosity over what the two children could possibly be discussing overtook his strict concern for his patient.

"...there's some really cool spots for fishing inside the wall, have you ever gone fishing?"

"...my daddy took me once." Carla and Grisha heard Mikasa respond.

"Oh really!?" Eren exclaimed. "That's cool! Pretty much every girl here hates doing outdoors stuff. We should go sometime!"

"...that sounds really nice," Mikasa said.

Carla could already picture Eren bouncing in his chair, barely containing his excitement and energy.

"So-uh," Eren began, pausing for a bit. "Did you sleep well? I don't fluff my mattress often, so it's not really that soft."

"It was amazing," Mikasa said. Carla could hear the smile in her voice. "I slept really well, your bed's the softest thing I ever slept in."

"Oh, okay." Eren said. "I was always curious about living in the mountains, Armin told me a bit about them."

"Armin..?" Mikasa asked.

"He's a good friend," Eren said, happy to talk about his friend. "Super smart, book nerd guy, kind of a wimp but he's really cool. You two would like each other."

The two stayed silent for a while.

"So...what do you think about living here, huh?" Eren asked quietly.

Carla felt Grisha stiffen a bit. She held her breath, trying to listen closely.

"I…" Mikasa started. "I want to...but I don't want to bother your mom and dad." She finished softly, her voice shaking.

Grisha relaxed, sighing. Carla felt a wave of relief wash over her as well.

"Oh, you won't," Eren began, "Dad's super busy with doctor work and Mom's always talked about wanting a daughter. You'd be right at home."

"That's right, you would be." Grisha called out as walked right in, slipping Carla's notice.

Eren turned, startled. "Dad!" He watched as Carla strode in after him. "Mom!"

"Doctor Jaeger?" Mikasa asked, her eyes cast upward at his, looking hopeful.

"Call me Uncle Grisha," Grisha said. He walked over to the bedside and knelt, putting his hands on Mikasa's shoulders.

"Surely you remember what I told you last night, yes? You should stay with us."

Mikasa felt his lips quiver, shaking a bit.

"Yes," Carla said, kneeling at the opposite side of Eren bed. She pulled Mikasa into a tight hug. "We would love to have you as part of our family."

Mikasa burst into tears, sobbing openly as she clung to Carla, hiding her face in Carla's blouse.

Grisha put a hand on Carla's shoulder. She turned to him and returned his warm smile.

She slightly turned and saw Eren transfixed awkwardly, clearly not knowing how to react. She gestured for him to approach.

Eren walked over, and Carla threw her arm around him, pulling him close.

"Auntie Carla sounds nice, how about calling me that?" Carla said after some thought.

"Wait, Auntie Carla?" Eren said, slightly indignant. "How come she gets to call you by your name?"

Carla laughed, and felt Mikasa let out a soft giggle as well.

"You never mind when Armin calls me that." Carla said playfully,

Eren puffed his cheeks. "He doesn't live here though, it's different."

"How about Mom?" Mikasa asked hesitantly, her voice barely a squeak.

Carla felt her heart stop.

"O-of course honey," She said warmly, trying to steel herself from the tears that threatened to spill over. "You can call me 'mom' if you like."

"Ahem," Grisha suddenly said, clearing his throat pointedly.

Carla looked him and saw her husband shuffling in his position. She looked to his face, slightly puzzled, before coming to a shocking and hilarious realisation.

The calm, collected, and focused Grisha was... _jealous_?

"Mikasa dear," Grisha began. He paused as he felt all eyes on him, wondering how to phrase his words.

Carla laughed loudly. "I think he wants you to call him 'Papa.'" She said with a smirk, teasing her husband.

"Carla, please." Grisha said, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly in embarrassment. "But Mikasa-"

"Dad. I'll call you Dad." Mikasa said brightly.

Grisha broke into a wide smile, clearly pleased with himself. Carla put a hand to her mouth, stifling her laughter at her husband's uncharacteristic behavior.

"So uncool, Dad." Eren said, frowning slightly, still wrapped in Carla's embrace. "You sure with calling her Mom?" He said, looking at Mikasa.

"Well…" Mikasa said, blushing, "You didn't want me to call her by her name...and I feel more like a family member if I can call her 'Mom.'"

"Well now," Carla said, bringing both Eren and Mikasa close to her eye level.

"You're both my treasures." Carla said, nuzzling her nose against Eren's and Mikasa's soft little cheeks. Mikasa responded with a soft giggle and Eren protested in embarrassment but grinned in spite of himself.

"How about we go eat some breakfast, now?" Carla said brightly.

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 **Reviews are love.**


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